19 replies

I went to the eye doctor this year (first time after being diagnosed) and he explained exactly what diabetes does to the eye. (jaybee52 gives some info below also). Depending on whether your bg is higher or lower can make you seem more nearsighted or farsighted. EVEN day to day! I am a contact wearer. have been for years. I wear Acuvue 2 for astigmatism. We tried MANY different kinds in the course of a couple of months and had to do minor tweaks to the prescription but my bg is well under control (daily sugars are between 90-110). Of course occassionally you have to have THAT bite and it will be 118. BG has a HUGE impact. I get a lot of buildup (also due to diabetes) and they don't last as long so my doctor recommended using clear care nightly. (You put your contacts into what looks like an old contact contraption with the little snapdown cages and then drop them into a little vial that bubbles away.) I have to admit that has helped A LOT!! JUST DON'T USE IT DIRECTLY IN YOUR EYE!!!! YOU NEED SEPERATE SOLUTION! IT HURTS! I also use Systane for contacts. It is the only eye drop recommended for use while your contacts are in. I also have allergies so it helps out tremendously! Hope this info helps!

I wear contacts and I have notice that when I went to my eye doctor my prescription has change because of having high blood sugar. Now my vision has change again and now my contacts are not working right for me, I get blurry vision and dry eyes. I have to constant take out the lens to moisten them before wearing them again. My eye doctor told me that i should only wear them a couple times a week to keep my eyes from getting dry.

That is how my eyes are doing, my OD has to keep changing my perscription because my eyes keep changing. I keep getting blurry vision & dry eyes & have to keep taking them out to moisten them. She told me not to get any glasses until I get my BG levels straight.

How have your Blood glucose numbers been Teresa? The vitreous humor, the clear gel in your eyeball does absorb higher BG levels and swells a bit. The added pressure changes the focal distance to the renina. Since there are no blood vesssels in the Vitreous it takes a while for the higher blood glucose levels to leave, and the eyeball returns to its normal pressure and focal length..

When your Blood Glucose is under control for a couple weeks, that is the time to get an eye exam and get the prescription eyewear. Otherwise you'll have a lot of eyewear you won't be able to use.

I had worn reading glasses for about a year or two and went for contact lenses maybe about a year ago because I was tired of the glasses on and off so I thought "extended wear contacts." Yeah, right… I had those things stuck to my nose, sink faucet, ears, and one day under my bathmat. I had to go back to the store 3x for samples. Enough. I realized that I was too stupid to wear contact lenses.

So I went for a free consultation for laser surgery. When they found out that my only problem is reading, they pretty much pointed to the door explaining that reading glasses only is just a middle age curse.

I now have bi-focals so I can still walk or read without thinking that bald people look like light bulbs.

My optomitrist has been having a time getting my contact prescription right. She has been working with me for almost a year on it. I have been wearing free lenses for al this time. Now that I've been diagnosed with Diabetes I know why my eyes keep changing. That's what my OD said too.

I never found out if the prescription for the contacts were right … I could not get them into my eyes. After 3 tries for samples and the "are you an idiot?" look from the sales desk, I thought I would just go to Plan B.

The first week my daughter had contacts, I thought I would go crazy. She could not put them in. Every morning for a week we would go down to the optometrist and have them help her put them in, so she could go to school.

I have a hard enough time finding my glasses, have to memorize whereever I place them when they're not on my face. I would never be able to find those little things. I would still need glasses to hunt for them when they wandered.

Oh, yeah, I lose my reading glasses and I have them all over the place. I paid big money for my bifocals but the reader glasses are often cheap at the drug stores, especially with BOGO deals. My co workers used to laugh at me because I would sometimes have 5-6 pairs all around my desk at the same time. I'd have them at home, in the car, at my desk, in my pocket, etc. My collection made truth of the comment "a sight for sore eyes!" :)